When you make a promise or give someone your word, you’re making a bond. You live by your word and do what you say you will. Unfortunately, too many people in this world don’t. It’s not enough to shake hands or even write a contract anymore. The agencies and companies you do business with want something stronger.

They want a surety bond. This bond is a guarantee from an outside insurance agency that you’re going to do the job, get it done on time, do it right, and follow the rules. And if not, they’ll be compensated in some way.

Surety bonds are often required by contractors bidding on government contracts, but not always. Companies, large and small, may require their contractors and subcontractors to be both licensed and bonded as part of the selection process. It may sound like an extra hoop to jump through to land the client, but it’s an easy way to give the decision-makers peace of mind.

Depending on the work you do and the requirements for the job, there are multiple types of bonds to choose from:

• Contract bonds guarantee that you, the contractor, will keep to the terms of the contract between you and the client.
• Commercial bonds reassure the organization hiring that you’ll follow all government rules and regulations while doing the job and as you work with that organization.
• Court bonds keep everyone protected from any losses in a court decision from a lawsuit brought against you, the project, and/or the client.
• Fidelity bonds protect against employee theft. You try to hire the best people, but it only takes one person to ruin your reputation and your business.

General contractors, builders, and those who work in the construction business most often need surety bonds for their work. But other industries benefit from having their word backed by bonds, too. If you’re writing contracts, guaranteeing work, promising delivery of a finished product, or involved in an industry that works with the government, bond insurance will protect your business reputation and help you land more contracts.

If you’re looking for insurance for a business of any size, you have a few key options with regards to how to proceed. The main types of business insurance that you should concern yourself with include a business owner policy (also referred to as BOP), general liability, professional liability, commercial auto and property and workers compensation.

A business owner policy is a special type of insurance package for small business owners that combines coverage for all liability risks and major property risks into one package. All levels of protection are assembled into the same package for the convenience of business owners everywhere. A general liability policy is a standard type of business insurance policy issued to an organization to protect them from things like bodily injury, property damage and more that may arise out of the products or services that they offer.

Commercial auto and property insurance is specifically designed to protect both your business itself and any vehicles that you use for business from a wide variety of different types of situations. If you own a car that is used exclusively for business, for example, you’ll need a solid commercial auto and property insurance policy to make sure that it is protected while in use.

Worker’s compensation insurance is designed to act as a type of wage replacement insurance for employees who may be injured on the job. If an employee gets injured, his or her wages while they are away will be covered by the insurance policy instead of out of your own pocket.

Professional liability business insurance is designed to give business owners an overview of the types of situations that they may be exposing themselves to through their general day to day operations. It will act as a guide and an analysis for situations that may require certain types of policies